Hathaway Bridge repairs to start Monday

By Matthew Beaton / The News Herald

Published: Wednesday, January 30, 2013 at 03:28 PM.

Satter said as vehicles travel toward Panama City Beach, U.S. 98 expands from two lanes to three. The lane closure will keep U.S. 98 at two lanes for an addition 1,700 feet. After that, the bridge will open to three lanes.

Eastbound traffic won’t be affected by the repairs, Satter said. Also he gave assurances the bridge is in good shape.

“There’s no cause for alarm. The bridge is safe; the bridge is structurally sound,” he said. “We do routine maintenance on all our bridges. This is more or less what we call ‘heavy maintenance.’ ”

FDOT first noticed the new joint issue last year when it was repairing the other joint. Since then, the agency has monitored the joint and rest of the bridge, and now has decided to replace it, Satter said.

But the first joint did not cause the current problems, Satter said. The bridge, which was finished in 2004, is still under its 10-year warranty, so that will cover the repair costs.

Commissioner Mike Thomas said he was glad only one lane will be closed at a time on this year’s repairs.

“I think they learned a lot (from) last time when they did the repair, and they’re making it more convenient for pedestrians and travelers this time,” he said.

PANAMA CITY — The Hathaway Bridge will get its second major repair in two years, starting Monday.

Weather permitting, work will get under way to mend a bridge joint, which will close one of three westbound lanes. The project is expected to be completed by spring, said Ian Satter, spokesman, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).

But, the repairs likely will continue during Spring Break, which generally runs March 2 through April 7 this year. Satter said despite the traffic increase, it was better for the state to get the repairs done sooner rather than later.

“Our hope is to get in there and get the job done as quickly and safely as possible,” he said

Satter said FDOT doesn’t want to see the project extend into May.

“We did find a way that we can do the repair without completely shutting down the bridge to traffic,” he said.

A similar repair was done last winter to another joint. The joints are the creases between each section of the bridge. The latest repair will involve removing existing concrete and replacing it with new concrete, Satter said. Once one side is fixed, the two lanes of traffic will shift over and the lane on the other side will be closed.

Satter said as vehicles travel toward Panama City Beach, U.S. 98 expands from two lanes to three. The lane closure will keep U.S. 98 at two lanes for an addition 1,700 feet. After that, the bridge will open to three lanes.

Eastbound traffic won’t be affected by the repairs, Satter said. Also he gave assurances the bridge is in good shape.

“There’s no cause for alarm. The bridge is safe; the bridge is structurally sound,” he said. “We do routine maintenance on all our bridges. This is more or less what we call ‘heavy maintenance.’ ”

FDOT first noticed the new joint issue last year when it was repairing the other joint. Since then, the agency has monitored the joint and rest of the bridge, and now has decided to replace it, Satter said.

But the first joint did not cause the current problems, Satter said. The bridge, which was finished in 2004, is still under its 10-year warranty, so that will cover the repair costs.

Commissioner Mike Thomas said he was glad only one lane will be closed at a time on this year’s repairs.

“I think they learned a lot (from) last time when they did the repair, and they’re making it more convenient for pedestrians and travelers this time,” he said.

Thomas said both walking lanes will be left open, and though the repairs are an inconvenience, he said if they’re needed they must be done.

Thomas said FDOT was “very candid” last year in meetings on the first repair, saying additional repairs might be necessary.

They “told us there were some places where the concrete was chipping and where some of it was scaling and they needed to come back in and repair them,” he said.